It Only Ever Happens in Diagon Alley
by Rayniekinnz
Summary: 'Draco Malfoy hates Diagon Alley.' Round 9 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.


**Written for Round 9 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.**

**Team: Montrose Magpies  
Position: Chaser 2  
Prompts**: 3. Possible 12. Lonely 14. Blind  
**Notes**: Sorry, Magpies! I tried, but this round really wasn't a good one for me…

* * *

**It Only Ever Happens in Diagon Alley**

Draco Malfoy hated Diagon Alley.

He supposed it had started when he was a small, impressionable child. His father had had to take him to have clothes fitted for some event and despite feeling ill, he hadn't wanted to be troublesome after being scolded for hiding sweets in his bed again. It had been exciting at first, but soon enough he was barely able to stay on his feet and his head was pounding. His parents seemed not to notice and he was happy to try and hide the symptoms.

And then he puked all over the witch who was measuring a new set of robes for him.

She was nice enough about the situation, but her boss threw an absolute fit and he had been screamed at for ten minutes straight since both of his parents were off doing something else. By the time his father returned he was a sobbing mess wearing only his pants and being tended to by the horribly embarrassed witch he had spilled his guts on.

Needless to say, the rest of the day hadn't gone all that well.

It was possible it wasn't that experience in particular that turned him off, however. He just didn't seem to have any luck when it came to entering the centre and he always seemed to humiliate himself in some shape, colour or form. There was that time when he face-planted on the street at age six or when he knocked over a shelf of [thankfully inexpensive] ingredients at the Apothecary or even when Pansy somehow convinced him to sneak out of Flourish and Blotts with her and they ended up nearly being kidnapped by some gross mudblood looking for some extra cash.

He pointedly ignored the little voice in his head that said it was also the place he had lost any chances of being friends with Potty in.

It was just his luck Diagon Alley would be the only place in all of Magical Britain that sold the book he needed. He could order it through an acquaintance in Belgium, but he knew he would never hear the end of it. He'd rather brave the Alley.

Sneering, he tossed some Floo-powder into the fireplace and called, "The Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley!"

* * *

"Bloody crowds," he muttered, pushing through the muddle of bodies and dragging Scorpius after him. His son had inherited his dislike it seemed, for he frowned and fidgeted and clung to him more than usual, refusing to let go even when they passed the Quidditch shop. Lucky for Draco since he wanted to get the book and return home as soon as possible – Scorpius always got lost in between the brooms and shelves, yet refused to stop going inside.

"_Daddy_," Scorpius whined, grabbing his trouser-leg and making a strange hiccoughing noise. "Home!"

"In a second," he muttered, gritting his teeth and rolling his eyes heavenwards when they were forced to stop right outside the book shop alongside a few other patrons to let a frazzled witch manoeuvre her pram and four small children outside the door.

He ducked inside and practically ran towards the Potions and Healing section. He ignored the indignant yelps following his wake and ripped the last copy of _Sliced vs. Diced: The Difference_ off the shelf – _his_ copy! Feeling rather smug, yet not enough to veil the distaste of having to spend any more time in the stuffy store, he took out his money and scooped Scorpius up onto his hip so he wouldn't wander off.

There were only two people at the till – thank Merlin! – and he quickly stepped in behind the woman just finishing up. She was fumbling a lot, vaguely reminding him of his legally blind [distant] aunt on his father's side, but she managed to get everything in order and soon hobbled out. He dropped the book on the countertop and slid the owed Galleons along the cover, jiggling Scorpius when he started fussing again.

To his great annoyance, the clerk made a strange expression and excused himself to the backroom 'to check on something'. Draco was left at the till with his fussing son, the other tiller shooting him funny looks as the seconds passed and turned into minutes. This caught his attention and sneering, he glanced at the boy busy paying for his Hogwarts books out of the corner of his eye.

He looked vaguely familiar, but that meant little to Draco. He was a little over average height and on the skinny side, cheeks ruddy as he dug around in his pockets and backpack for more money. Idly, Draco wondered where his parents were, but soon lost interest. He tapped the counter irritably, craning his neck to see into the room the clerk had disappeared into.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir," the man reappeared, not looking sorry at all, "this book is our last copy until the new shipment comes in, so it'll be another Galleon and ten Sickles."

Pressing his lips together, Draco wordless took out his wallet and produced more coins. Another reason he hated Diagon Alley – everyone knew him, and either tried to make a big deal about nothing or tried to make him pay more money than owed.

The man looked a little surprised, but took the money anyway and reluctantly passed over his change. Draco had already slipped the book into robe pocket and gathered the silver coins in his hand as he turned away from the counter. He was about to put them away when the boy caught his attention once more.

"I, er, don't seem to have enough," he muttered, staring mournfully at the book on top of his pile. It was a collection of muggle stories, looking very out of place beside his Transfiguration and Charms textbooks.

Rolling his eyes, Draco dropped his change onto the counter beside the untidy stack with a soft _clink_, ignoring the startled expressions of both the boy and the woman ringing his stuff up. He exited the store quickly and pulled up his hood as it started to drizzle, tucking Scorpius under as well since he hadn't thought to put him in anything other than a jumper.

Sighing irritably, he glared briefly at the sky and _just_ missed a mud-puddle. He hoped it would let up soon, otherwise it would be too crowded in the pub to get home anytime soon.

He hated Diagon Alley.

* * *

He _really_ hated Diagon Alley.

All he was trying to do was buy Scorpius a new French dictionary – really, that was all! – and he somehow got cornered outside the new owl place. This didn't happen when he went to Knockturn Alley or the market Spain! And here he had been doing so well, avoiding the place for a full two years before having to drag himself back. Of course he'd be accosted on the first day back – by a kid, no less!

An excited kid, by the looks of things. He was practically bouncing up and down, looking all-too-proud of himself if you asked Draco. He was about to subtly stun the little idiot and sneak away when he seemed to get a hold of himself.

"You're the man from the book shop!"

Well…that wasn't the usual Death Eater accusation, was it?

Apparently noticing his confusion, the boy – or teenager? – gave an uncertain smile and run a hand through his hair. His _blue_ hair.

"Oh, I guess you don't remember me. I don't blame you, really, it's been a couple years. Almost didn't recognise you myself! But you know, I knew who you were before so I would have eventually seen you anyway. Weird, huh? Normally it's not possible to meet a stranger again unless you know a mutual friend. Didn't think it'd take years though! You really don't go out often, do you? Not that's there's anything wrong—"

"_What_ are you yammering on about?" Draco demanded.

The boy seemed to deflate, looking almost…lonely. "We met in the bookshop a couple years ago – you gave me some money?"

Draco stared at him blankly before blinking and shaking his head. "Oh, you."

"You _do_ remember! I'm Teddy Lupin, by the way. You're Draco Malfoy? We're sort of cousins, aren't we?"

Teddy Lupin. _Teddy. Lupin._

Oh dear. He didn't think he liked the smile on the kid's face either. Why would he be so happy, being related to _him_?

"What do you want?" he asked bluntly, wincing a bit. He hated being blunt – that was for Weasleys. "I gave you a couple coins, we're distantly related. Why is this important?"

"I want to get to know you, of course!" Teddy said, looking a little offended.

Draco stared at him, opening and closing his mouth a few times before simply spinning on his heel and walking away. Only in bloody Diagon Alley would he be accosted by a blue-haired brat who just happened to be related to him and wanting a relationship.

The dictionary could wait, he didn't have time for this shit.

* * *

"Draco?"

_Oh_, he _really_ hated Diagon Alley.

Stiffening, he barely managed not to shriek like a little girl and drop his books. Scorpius looked equally shaken at his side, but composed himself and settled for glaring silently. Draco turned, sneering when he was met with the surprised expression of one Edward Lupin – a little older than he remembered, too. The boy looked about fourteen or fifteen, dressed in muggle clothes with a bright green robe thrown on top, clashing horribly with his indigo hair.

"It is you!" the boy said happily, stepping forward and thrusting out a hand. After a moment of Draco merely staring at it, he retracted it but didn't lose his smile. "And this is Scorpius, right? It's nice to meet you – I'm Teddy! We're cousins, you know."

_Oh dear Lord_, he's still on about this. "Look, can you—!"

"Cousins?" Scorpius asked, looking up at him with wide blue eyes. "Are we really, Papa?"

"Well, not directly," Teddy said, looking a bit embarrassed. "My grandmother is your dad's aunt."

Scorpius blinked, looking as if he were trying to figure it out before shrugging it off and peering at his new 'cousin' questioningly. "…you don't _look_ like a cousin of Papa's…"

On any other day, Draco would have snickered at his son's perplexed expression. It was filled with childish confusion, nothing like the ugly sneer that would most likely have adorned his own face at that age. Today, however, that certainly wouldn't have been a good idea. They were being watched, and he didn't dare take any chances of shattering the [reluctant] peace that had formed between the Malfoy name and the public. He was about to 'reprimand' Scorpius when Teddy broke in, looking rather amused himself.

"I don't, do I?" Then, grinning, he said, "How about _now_?"

It was instantaneous – Draco hadn't even finished his train of thought when his eyes caught the changes. Indigo and hazel, respectively, faded into ash-blonde and the crystal blue that he had only ever seen on his mother. Edward – for 'Teddy' just wasn't appropriate when looking at the startlingly pureblood-like boy – twisted his lips into a parody of a smile, a slither of teeth showing, and fluttered dark lashes in false modesty.

"…how about now?"

Draco had heard the boy could do such things, had known his cousin could do it, yet he felt a bit like he had seen something amazing. Perhaps it was the fact that he was staring into a face so remarkably like his late father's.

And then Teddy changed back, breaking the tense moment. He looked troubled and uncertain, perhaps even disappointed despite the smile on his mouth.

"…that was amazing!" Scorpius squealed, dragging their attention away from each other. "Can I do that too?!"

Draco shook his head, laying a firm hand on his son's shoulder. He met brown eyes directly. "What is it you want from me, Lupin? If this is about some ridiculous Gryffindor—!"

"I'm a Slytherin, actually."

"—Slytherin, whatev—_Slytherin_?"

Teddy laughed, a hint of bitterness seeping through. "Yeah, Nana and Harry and everyone else were surprised too. Both my parents were in Gryffindor…"

Draco realised with a jolt exactly what this was about. "Scorpius, why don't you go find a book to read?"

Scorpius looked like he wanted to argue, still making cow-eyes at his newfound cousin, but knew an order when he heard one and scampered off to give them some privacy.

Draco was starting to think he needed to update his list of things/places/people he disliked – Diagon Alley suddenly didn't seem so bad next to the puppy eyes being shot at him under shaggy blue hair. It looked as if he would never be free of Harry bloody Potter and his merry band of imbeciles, directly or not.

"Look," Teddy said quietly, nervously, "I don't want to bother you…I just, I _need_ to know. About you…and Scorpius…the Blacks, the Malfoys…"

"Fine," he said shortly, mostly for the idiots listening in to their conversation. "I'll help you with your little…teenage rebellion. But could you stop stalking me? I have enough problems with this bloody place without having to worry about blue-haired brats just waiting to pop up out of my shadow."

"You mean it?!" Teddy asked, eyes shining and looking as if he were seconds away from dragging Draco into a bear-hug. "Of course, I'll—!"

"Teddy? What the hell are you doing with _Malfoy_?!"

Groaning, Draco steeled himself for the screaming match to come.

He _really_ hated Diagon Alley…but Weasleys and Potters weren't far behind on the list.

**End**


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